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Projects


Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/K005200/1
Title Micro-spectroscopic soft X-ray studies of low-cost epitaxial graphene and adsorbates
Status Completed
Energy Categories Energy Efficiency(Residential and commercial) 10%;
Not Energy Related 80%;
Energy Efficiency(Industry) 10%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry) 50%;
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics) 50%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr GR Bell
No email address given
Physics
University of Warwick
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 10 January 2013
End Date 09 July 2014
Duration 18 months
Total Grant Value £42,939
Industrial Sectors No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Region West Midlands
Programme NC : Physical Sciences
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr GR Bell , Physics, University of Warwick (99.998%)
  Other Investigator Dr G Costantini , Chemistry, University of Warwick (0.001%)
Dr NR Wilson , Physics, University of Warwick (0.001%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract Graphene - the remarkable two-dimensional material whose discoverers were awarded a Nobel prize - may revolutionise the electronics industry. This depends on controlling the electronic properties of the material AND on making such material cheaply. In ordinary three-dimensional materials like silicon, control is achieved by introducing impurities into the material ("doping"). It is not possible to dope graphene conventionally without destroying some of the electronic properties that make it so attractive in the first place. An alternative is "transfer doping" where we place certain molecules on top of the graphene sheet and they add or remove electrons without damaging the sheet's superb electrical properties. We will also need to examine the effects of the substrate that the graphene sheet lies on.In this project we will investigate the electronic structure of graphene on different substrates and with different molecules on top of it. This will be done using a technique called "angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy", or ARPES, in which we knock electrons out of the graphene using soft X-ray photons and calculate their momentum and energy to build up a complete picture of the electronic structure. However, we will be using advanced ARPES systems at major X-ray facilties in France, Italy and elsewhere which are capable of making these measurements on tiny length scales - less than one micrometre. This will enable us to work out changes in the electronic structure of graphene made in a very cheap and simple way in our lab using the same techniques likely to be employed by the electronics industry. Unlike expensive crystalline substrates, our samples are made on cheap metal foils and are not uniform so we need spatial resolution in the ARPES measurement.A key part of our project is building up collaborations with theoretical physicists who will be able to help us understand and predict the changes of electronic properties of our cheap, industrially relevant graphene. Such a predictive ability will be a big step forward in bringing graphene to real-world applications in areas such as information technology, advanced detectors and energy efficiency
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 11/02/13